Category: Books

BLOOD AND MAGICK by James R. Tuck / Z-View

Posted on by

BLOOD AND MAGICK by James R. Tuck

First sentences…

I should have known.

There were signs.  I’m supposed to be the damn expert.  I should have caught the warnings.

I should have.

But I was completely clueless until the minute the restaurant exploded in a wave of eldritch flame and burning glass.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Deacon Chalk knows the truth about things that go bump in the night.  Chalk looks like a stereotypical biker.  Bald head.  Tats. Tall, broad-shouldered and muscular.  But Chalk is anything but stereotypical.  Several years ago, he almost died along with his family.  Vampires took them out.  But Chalk was saved by an angelic blood transfusion.  Yeah, angel’s blood.

Now Chalk and the small circle of friends that surround him are monster hunters.

But not tonight.

Chalk, his girlfriend Tiff, and their friends are having a quiet dinner.  Then all hell explodes.  Literally.  Members of a coven known as the Wrath of Baphomet attack.  They’re after the “Blood of the Trinity”.

Chalk and his team are no longer the monster hunters… tonight the monsters hunt them.

+++

BLOOD AND MAGICK is the third book in James R. Tuck’s Deacon Chalk: Occult Bounty Hunter series.  I’ve read and enjoyed all three.

I love crime, noir and detective/anti-hero stories. Add the right mix of humor and violence and I’m on board. The tales don’t normally feature werewolves, vampires, witches or demons.  But Tuck’s Deacon Chalk yarns do, and they work.

Chalk is the type of anti-hero I like. Smart (but not brainy), tough and with enough attitude to get him in tight jams as he tries to (mostly) do the right thing. While I’m not ready for a constant diet of this genre, when I do want another taste, I know James R. Tuck is open for business with other tales.

 

Rating:

“One Battle After Another” (2025) written & directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti / Z-View

Posted on by

One Battle After Another (2025)

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Screenplay: Paul Thomas Anderson; based on VINELAND by Thomas Pynchon

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti, Benicio Del Toro, Teyana Taylor, Regina Hall, Wood Harris, Starletta DuPois and Kevin Tighe.

Tagline: Some search for battle, others are born into it…

The Plot…

Bob and his sixteen year old daughter, Willa live off the grid in California.  Bob’s a stoner and over-protective of Willa.

But for good reason.

Seventeen years ago, Bob’s real name was Pat.  Pat was a member of a revolutionary group that robbed banks, broke immigrants out of detention centers and bombed military instilations.  Willa’s mother was also a member of the militant group.  She abandoned Pat and Willa when she fled to Mexico to avoid prison.

Bob and Willa’s peaceful existence is about to be shattered.  Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw, for secret personal reasons, wants Willa dead.

Lockjaw has the might of the US military at his disposal… and he’s closing in.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)…

One Battle After Another made more critics’ annual “best of” lists in 2025 than any other film, including the most 1st-place votes.

One Battle After Another features Chase Infiniti’s film debut.  She is excellent.

Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio Del Toro and Teyana Taylor are perfectly cast.  Sean Penn, who is always excellent, deserves an Academy Award for his performance as Col. Lockjaw.

One Battle After Another is an excellent film.  It features over-the-top characters and outlandish situations.  It’s full of action with the right amount of humor.  I wouldn’t argue with anyone calling it their #1 film of the year (although I’d go with Sinners).  The acting, directing and writing is excellent.  However, I don’t feel that One Battle After Another is a film I’ll often revisit.  Your mileage as always may vary.

One Battle After Another (2025) rates 4 of 5 stars.

THE BURGLAR IN THE RYE: A Bernie Rhodenbarr Mystery by Lawrence Block

Posted on by

THE BURGLAR IN THE RYE: A Bernie Rhodenbarr Mystery by Lawrence Block

First sentences…

The lobby was a bit worse for the wear.  The large oriental carpet had seen better days, lots of them.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Bernie Rhodenbarr is a witty, mild-mannered book lover.  Bernie can usually be found running his used bookstore.  Where Bernie is never sledom found is at his second profession.  Bernie’s a thief.

Alice Cottrell, the former teenage lover of the world-famous, reclusive author Gulliver “Gully” Fairborn visits Bernie in his bookstore.  Gully is the author of NOBODY’S BABY, the novel that influenced a generation.  Even Bernie felt the book had a positive impact on his life, changing the way he looked at the world.  Instead of a sequel or following up NOBODY’S BABY, Gully became a traveling recluse.  He wanted no publicity and his life kept private.

Anthea Landau. Gully’s former agent, kept years of Gully’s private letters.  She plans to auction them off in a few days keeping the money for herself.  Gully wants the letters destroyed.  Anthea wants to pay Bernie to steal them before the auction.

Bernie decides t0 take possession of the letters.  Landau lives at The Padington, a once famous, but no rundown hotel.  Bernie takes a room.  Getting into Landau’s apartment late at night is a breeze.  Bernie quietly enters her bedroom and after a brief search finds the letters.  As he’s exciting, Bernie sees a huge knife sticking out of Landau’s chest.

She wasn’t sleeping.  She was dead. Recently murdered.

And now the cops are about to enter the room.

If Bernie can’t find a way out, and discover who killed Landau, he’ll  take the fall.

+++

THE BURGLAR IN THE RYE is the ninth Bernie Rhodenbarr novel.  Each story features a murder mystery full of witty dialogue, a healthy does of humor, interesting characters, multiple suspects and a conclusion where Bernie brings everyone together to explain the intricacies of the tale and expose the murderer.

Bernie Rhodenbarr tales are always fun.

Rating:

“Cross: Season 2” starring Aldis Hodge and Isaiah Mustafa – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

Posted on by

The Poster and Trailer for Cross: Season 2 Are Here!  Loved season one.

Deal me in.

Alex Cross is back for justice.

An all new season of Cross is out February 11 on Prime Video.

About Cross: A Washington, D.C. crime drama that follows Alex Cross, a brilliant homicide detective, whose personal struggles threaten to derail his career and life. Based on the worldwide bestselling book series by James Patterson.

ANTIHEREO: AN OPRHAN X NOVEL by Greg Hurwitz is Coming!

Posted on by

There’s a new Greg Hurwitz Orphan X novel that will drop on February 10th.  It’s the 11th in the series and it’s titled ANTIHERO.  Here’s the synopsis…

In the next book in this New York Times best-selling series, Evan Smoak takes on his most complex mission yet―one where he not only has to protect but also avenge, and find a way to balance vengeance with mercy.

Once a black ops assassin for the government known as Orphan X, Evan Smoak broke with the program and went deep underground, using his operational rules and skills to help the truly desperate with nowhere else to turn.

When Luke Devine, one of the most powerful men in the world, has a psychological crisis, Evan flies to the East Coast to help him. While there, he learns of a young woman who was kidnapped off the New York City subway, clearly in danger and in need of aid. With no name and few clues, Evan and his team track down the missing woman, who was assaulted and abandoned. Evan offers his help―and sets out finding the young men responsible. But the woman insists that Evan abandon his usual methods―no vengeance and, in particular, no killing. Which will prove no easy feat given the mounting incoming threats from all sides. In a mission that takes Evan from coast to coast, from the poorest corners of society to the richest, Orphan X must figure out a way to protect the innocent, avenge the victimized, and balance justice with a measure of mercy.

ANTIHERO: AN ORPHAN X NOVEL  Hardcover

ANTIHERO: AN ORPHAN X NOVEL  Kindle

FRONT SIGHT: THREE SWAGGER NOVELLAS by Stephen Hunter / Z-View

Posted on by

FRONT SIGHT: THREE SWAGGER NOVELLAS by Stephen Hunter

City of Meat

First sentence…

Chicago 1934

The bickering got so bad, finally, that the director called both Sam Cowley and Mel Purvis to Washington to talk out the command difficulties in the productive but messed-up Chicago field office of the Justice Department’s glamorous Division of Investigation.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

J. Edgar Hoover is basking in the attention that his Division of Investigation is getting from the capture killing of John Dillinger.  Hoover wants more of the same.  The next big-name gangster Hoover wants to bring down is Baby Face Nelson.  Who better to get the job done, than the man who killed Dillinger?

Not the federal agent who was creditied with doing the deed.  No, Hoover wanted the man who actually pulled the trigger. Charles Swagger.  Swagger was smart.  Equally important he was cool and calm when bullets flew.  And Swagger hit what he aimed at.

So when word reached Washington that Baby Face Nelson was seen around the Chicago Union Stock Yards, Charles Swagger was sent down to investigate.

Alone, in the dark, Swagger is walking the stockyard when he is attacked by a lunatic.  Forced to defend himself, Swagger kills the man.  When the stockyard police arrive, they’re ready to sweep the event under the rug.  A white police office killed a “coon” in self-defense.  Nothing to see here.

So Swagger investigates.  Turns out the man he killed was hopped up on a new drug.  So far it was only found in the  7th District of Chicago.  Although several murders could be tied to people under the influence of the drug, the people killed didn’t rate.  The local cops wrote off the murders as business as usual for the area.

Swagger feels differently.  His investigation shifts.  Swagger plans to find the source of the drug and bring them to justice.  He knows it involves powerful people somehow associated with the stockyard.  He’s getting pressure from local cops and stockyard officals to back off.  His bosses in Washington want results on Baby Face Nelson.

But Swagger won’t quit.  Even if it kills him.

+++

Johnny Tuesday

First sentence…

It was February 1945, and in the cities of America, small or large, town, burg, village, or hamlet, everybody smoked.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Earl Swagger is, like his father Charles, a former soldier and lawman known for his brains, toughness and marksmanship.  Earl’s undercover investigation into a successful bank robbery that resulted in two murders is going nowhere.  His resistance from the local officials indicate the robbery is tied to something bigger than a couple of thugs looking for an easy score.

But what could it be?

Perhaps it’s the money laundering or the gambling ring or the two gangs looking to get on top? Earl knows that he’s being manipulated by a fem fatale.  But to what end?

And what could be worse than being trapped in a remote, deserted house with a cold blooded hitman?

+++

Five Dolls for the Gut Hook

First sentence…

Hot Springs,
Arkansas,
1978

I am improving.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Bob Lee Swagger is like his grandfather and father a decorated soldier.  Bob’s war was Viet Nam.  There he was a sniper.  One of the best.  But Bob’s not a lawman.  And since the war, he’s struggled with drinking too much and survivor’s guilt over lost men.

Bob is surprised when he’s approached by an old friend from Hot Springs, Arkansas.  A serial killer has been brutally butchering young women there.  The police are stuck.  No leads.  No progress.  And the murders keep occuring.  Five so far.

Bob is confused.  He’s a sniper, not a detective.  And that’s exactly why they want him.  He’s told, “We need somebody smart who can look at stuff from different angles and maybe see something that our best people have missed… you are the son and grandson of two of the greatest detectives this state has ever produced.”

Bob agrees to assist with the investigation.  They know the killer will strike again soon.  The clock is ticking.

+++

Stephen Hunter’s Swagger novels are automatic buys for me.  I love the family history.  Hunter is an excellent story teller.  FRONT SITE provides three tales and each is a banger.  FRONT SITE gets my highest recommendation.

Rating:

Craig’s Best of 2025: Films / TV / Books / Posts

Posted on by

Happy New Year!

As we start 2026, let’s take a look at the BEST OF 2025. I hope you see something that you enjoyed or gets you interested to check out. Here we go…

Movies and Television Series

In 2025, I watched 375 movies and tv series. That number is down 21 from last year. My favorite films and limited series released in 2025 included (in alpha order):

  • A House of Dynamite
  • aka Charlie Sheen
  • Amateur, The
  • American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden
  • Americas, The
  • Caught Stealing
  • Chaos: The Manson Murders
  • Duster
  • Havoc
  • Last Samurai Standing: Season 1
  • Mayor of Kingstown: Season 4
  • Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning
  • Paradise: Season 1
  • Pitt, The
  • Reacher: Season 3
  • Sean Combs: The Reckoning
  • Sinners
  • Sly Lives
  • Surviving Black Hawk Down
  • Tulsa King: Season 3
  • Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
  • Wick is Pain
  • WWE Unreal: Season 1

Books

In 2025, I read 37 books (down 9 from last year) My favorites from this year included (in the order I read them):

  • 1. Joe Ledger: Secret Missions 1 by Jonathan Maberry
    2. The Big Empty by Robert Crais
    3. Joe Ledger: Secret Missions 2 by Jonathan Maberry
    4. Burn to Shine by Jonathan Maberry
    5. The Friends of Pancho Villa by James Carlos Blake
    6. Blue Moon by Lee Child
    7. King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby
    8. Ceremony by Robert B. Parker
    9. Hatchet Girls by Joe R. Lansdale
    10. Hunter’s Moon by James Byron Huggins
    11. Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz
    12. Front Sight by Stephen Hunter
    13. Fever House by Keith Rosson
    14. November Road by Lou Berney
    15. Hush Money by Robert B. Parker

My Most Popular Posts of the Year

I continue to find some surprises in what became my most popular posts each year. Here are the top ten for 2025 and some thoughts for each…

10. The Syfy Channel’s 2025 “Twilight Zone” Christmas Marathon Schedule is Up! – The Twilight Zone Marathon Schedule posts are always popular. Last year the TZ New Year’s Marathon Schedule clocked in at #10.

9. The 25 Best ’90s Movies – New to the top ten!

8. Evidence Points to Gary Francis Poste as The Zodiac Killer! – Fell from the #2 spot.

7. Wolverine (and that scary smirk) by John Byrne! – New to the top ten!

6. The Dichotomy Philosophy Quiz – New to the top ten!

5. RIP: Johnny Crawford – New to the top ten!

4. Syfy’s Twilight Zone 2025/2026 New Year’s Marathon Schedule is Up! – The TZ New Year’s Marathon announcement moved from the 10th spot to #4!

3. Batman – “It Was a Dark and Stormy Night” by Snoopy (Charles Schulz), Len Wein & Walt Simonson! – No change. Was in the #3 spot last year.

2. Schwarzenegger in “King Lear” & Robin Williams in “Jack and the Beanstalk” – moved from the #1 spot last year.

1. “CAUGHT STEALING” screenplay by Charlie Huston, directed by Darren Aronofsky, starring Austin King, Regina King & Zoe Kravitz – The Trailer is Here! – Making it’s first appearance on the list and in the #1 spot.

My All-Time Most Popular Posts

10. The 2021 TWILIGHT ZONE New Year’s Eve Marathon is Coming and the Full Schedule is Out! – The Twilight Zone Marathon posts are always popular.

09. Gadot & The Rock Strike a Pose – this is the fifth year in a row that the Gadot & The Rock Pose post has remained in the 9th spot.

08. Steve Reeves as Superman – this is the third year in a row that Steve Reeves as Superman flew in to the 8th spot.

07. TOP 10 MOST ICONIC HORROR MOVIE VILLAINS! – For the second year in a row.

06. Billy the Kid Photo Discovered – holding strong for two years in a row.

05. Dracula Through the Ages – moved to the 5th spot last year and held on for the second year in a row.

04. SYFY’s 2023/2024 Twilight Zone New Year’s Eve Marathon Schedule is Up! – remains our 4th most popular post for the second year in a row.

03. Zodiac Killer Code Cracked? – Came in 3rd last year and held that spot.

02. Louis Meyers: Evidence He Was the Zodiac Killer – our second all-time most popular post for the second year in a row.

01. Schwarzenegger in “King Lear” & Robin Williams in “Jack and the Beanstalk” – our all-time most popular post for the third year in a row.

It’s always interesting to see which topics resonate with fans and continue to be popular long after their initial post.

“Shattered” (1991) written & directed by Wolfgang Peterson, starring Tom Berenger, Bob Hoskins and Greta Scacchi / Z-View

Posted on by

Shattered (1991)

Director: Wolfgang Petersen

Screenplay: Wolfgang Petersen; based on THE PLASTIC NIGHTMARE by Richard Neeley

Stars: Tom Berenger, Bob Hoskins, Greta Scacchi, Joanne Whalley, Corbin Bernsen, Bert Rosario, Kellye Nakahara, Frank Cavestani and Theodore Bikel.

Tagline:  A love he can’t forget. A murder he can’t remember.

The Plot…

Dan Merrick wakes up in a hospital with no memory of how he got there.  His injuries were gruesome.  He barely lived.  His face required reconstructive plastic surgery.  The concussion left him with psychogenic amnesia.  But he lived.

Dan learns driving home late one night he and Judith, his wife, were involved in a terrible accident. The car went off the road and over a steep embankment.  Judith suffered minor injuries when she was thrown from the car.  Dan has no memory of the accident or anything from his past.  The doctors say it could slowly return… or not.

Judith is so loving and attentive to Dan as he recovers.  Dan learns he was a partner in an architectural firm.  Slowly flashes of memory come to Dan but they make no sense.  As Dan is going through things he comes across hidden photos.  They are of Judith.  With another man.  Judith was cheating on him!

As Dan’s memory slowly returns he begins to wonder about the accident. The same wreck that nearly killed him, left Judith with minor injuries.  If Judith and her lover were trying to kill him, Dan is sure that they will conspire to finish the job.

If only he could remember…

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)… 

Shattered delivers as a Hitchcockian psychological erotic thriller.  It’s a fun neo-noir mystery filled with surprises and a fun twist ending.

Shattered reminds me of a film that would have been made in the 1940s, but instead is a product of 1990s film sensibilities.

I love it.

Shattered (1991) rates 5 of 5 stars.

“Caught Stealing” written by Charlie Huston, directed by Darren Aronofsky; starring Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio and Benito Martinez Ocasio / Z-View

Posted on by

Caught Stealing (2025)

Director: Darren Aronofsky

Screenplay: Charlie Huston; based on CAUGHT STEALING by Charlie Huston

Stars: Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Griffin Dunne, Shaun O’Hagan, Action Bronson, Matt Smith, Nikita Kukushkin, Yuri Kolokolnikov, D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, Oleg Prudius, Liev Schreiber, Benito Martinez Ocasio, Bad Bunny, Carol Kane and Vincent D’Onofrio.

Tagline: 2 Russians, 2 Jews and a Puerto Rican walk into a bar…

The Plot…

Henry “Hank” Thompson was a baseball phenom headed to the big leagues straight out of high school.  Then a tragic auto accident left a friend dead and Hank with a career-ending injury.  A career that never even had a chance to get started.

That was ten years ago. 1988.  Now Hank is a New York City bartender.  He drinks too much, lacks real ambition, and still loves The San Francisco Giants.  Oh, Hank also loves Yvonne.  She’s a positive influence and it looks like they may have a future.  Life is good.  Except for his nightmares about the car crash. What could have been and what was.

Still, with Yvonne, life is on the right track.

When Hank’s neighbor, Russ Miner has to leave for a few days to visit his hospitalized father, Hank is talked into taking care of Russ’ cat.  It isn’t long after, that two Russian mobsters show up.  They’re looking for Russ.  When Hank cannot give the thugs the answers they want, they beat Hank nearly to death.

Detective Elise Roman questions Hank. She thinks he’s withholding information.  He’s not.  Detective Roman informs Hank that the Russians are dangerous. (No kidding.)  Worse still, his neighbor Russ works for the infamous Drucker brothers.  The Drucker brothers are known killers, but never leave anyone alive willing to testify against them.  Detective Roman warns Hank that with the Russians and the Druckers after him, he won’t have long to live.  Neither will anyone close to him.  If the Russians don’t get them, the Druckers will.

Hank has no clue what everyone is looking for.  Hank understands if he doesn’t figure it out, he’s dead… and so are his family and friends.

Thoughts (beware of spoilers)… 

Charlie Huston’s Henry “Hank” Thompson trilogy (CAUGHT STEALING / SIX BAD THINGS / A DANGEROUS MAN) earned the #1 spot in my favorite books of 2006.  They get my highest recommendation.  Although the movie makes changes from the novel, I still loved the adaptation.

Caught Stealing is exceptionally well cast.  It is my favorite Austin Butler film.  It would be cool to see the rest of the Hank Thompson trilogy adapted and Butler make the transformation to A DANGEROUS MAN.  Zoë Kravitz is perfect as Hank’s love interest.  Kudos also to Regina King, Griffin Dunne, Shaun O’Hagan, Liev Schreiber, Bad Bunny, Carol Kane and Vincent D’Onofrio.  They shine.

Caught Stealing has a couple of shocking twists.  It also has the right mix of suspense, humor and action.  I loved it.  Caught Stealing gets my highest recommendation.

Caught Stealing (2025) rates 5 of 5 stars.

THE DREADFUL LEMON SKY BY John D. MacDonald / Z-View

Posted on by

THE DREADFUL LEMON SKY by John D. MacDonald

First sentences…

I was in deep sleep, alone aboard my houseboat, alone in a half acre of bed, alone in a sweaty dream of chase, fear, and monstrous predators.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

At 4am, Travis McGee is awakened from dark dreams by someone climbing aboard his boat, The Busted Flush.  The intruder is Carrie Milligan, a former lover.  She’s scared, but won’t say why.  The only thing she brought with her is a suitcase.  A suitcase full of cash.

Carrie asks Travis to hold the suitcase.  If she doesn’t return in two weeks, Travis is to give the cash to Carrie’s sister.  Travis can keep ten grand for his troubles.  Travis agrees.

Two weeks pass.  Carrie doesn’t return.  Then Travis learns she was killed in an auto accident in the small coastal town of Bayside.  Travis decides to look into Carrie’s death.  It’s too coincidental that she was killed during a time she was worried she might not return to claim the suitcase.

Travis goes to Bayside and starts digging into Carrie’s last hours.  Clues lead him to an apartment complex managed by a wanna-be tough guy everyone calls Big Daddy.  Travis also meets a lawyer and judge who warn Travis about sticking his nose in unwanted places.

Travis keeps digging.  The people behind Carrie’s murder have too much at stake to let a beach bum like Travis McGee screw things up.  They plan to fix that.

+++

THE DREADFUL LEMON SKY is the sixteenth of 21 Travis McGee novels.

In 1972, John D. MacDonald was named a grandmaster of the Mystery Writers of America.  MacDonald is best known for his Travis McGee novels as well as a standalone thriller (THE EXECUTIONERS) that was retitled Cape Fear when adapted into a movie (twice).

THE DREADFUL LEMON SKY by John D. MacDonald

Rating:

WISDOM CORNER by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

Posted on by

WISDOM CORNER by David Heska Wanbli Weiden is set to premiere on July 7, 2026.  The novel is Weiden’s follow-up to WINTER COUNTS, which I loved.  Here’s the lowdown…

From the award-winning author of WINTER COUNTS comes a new thriller about life — and death—on the Rosebud Indian Reservation.

Virgil Wounded Horse is desperately trying to escape his past as a hired vigilante on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. But when a legendary figure from the reservation is murdered, he’s forced to return to the job. Making matters more complicated, threats are coming from the Pine Ridge 705 — a street gang from a neighboring reservation who want to expand their reach into Rosebud — and Mitch Gagnon, a shady politician who will stop at nothing to gain more power.

With a heated tribal council election looming, as well as new revelations regarding past injustices at the local Native boarding school, the stakes grow even higher. Will Virgil find the justice he’s seeking before it’s too late?

David Heska Wanbli Weiden, whose writing “melds the gritty realism of Dashiell Hammett with the lyricism of Tommy Orange” (O, The Oprah Magazine),once again brings us a tour de force of crime fiction—and an expansive look at Native American life in a shifting world.

WISDOM CORNER Hardcover

WISDOM CORNER  Kindle

ORPHAN X by Gregg Hurwitz / Z-View

Posted on by

ORPHAN X by Gregg Hurwitz

First sentence…

1

After picking up a set of pistol suppressors froma nine-fingered armorer in Las Vegas, Evan Smoak headed for home in his Ford pickup, doing his best to not let the knife wound distract him.

The Overview:  Beware of Spoilers…

Evan Smoak was chosen as a child.  He was a perfect candidate.  A child with no family.  Raised in a secret government off-the-books program, Evan and other children like him became known as Orphans.  Evan was Orphan X.

The Orphans were trained to become the ultimate assassins.  As adults, these killers were perfect for black box assignments.  Able to kill with their hands, or any weapon, the Orphans possessed every strategy to covertly and alone complete a mission.  The added bonus was if caught or killed, because they had no family, the government had plausible deniability.

Orphan X excelled in all aspects of his training.  His abilities and mission success became legendary among the Orphans and their handlers.  Outside of the program, Orphan X was someone spoken about in whispers.

Finally, Evan Smoak had enough of the killing.  He used his training to escape the program and disappear.  Smoak set up a new life.  One that he controlled.  He still lived by stict rules – but these rules were self-imposed.  And now instead of taking lives, he was saving them.  Smoak found people in desperate situations, with nowhere to turn and rescued them. Smoak was careful.  Often the beneficiary didn’t know how they were selected or who helped them.

But now, someone with the same skills as Smoak is trying to find and kill him.  You can’t just walk away from the Orphan Program.

+++

ORPHAN X was published in 2016.  Its popularity led to a series of Orphan X novels.  There are currently 10 novels (with an 11th due in February 2026) and several short stories in the series.

ORPHAN X was a page turner.  I loved the characters, and world Hurwitz created.  This is a series that sho to the top of my t0-be-read list.  If you’re a fan of intelligent action, this series is for you.

Rating:

“Crime 101” starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, and Halle Berry – A New Poster and Trailer are Here!

Posted on by

Crime 101 starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, and Halle Berry – A New Poster and Trailer are Here!

Get an inside look at the making of #Crime101 starring Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Barry Keoghan, and Halle Berry. Experience it in theaters and IMAX on February 13.

Set against the sun-bleached grit of Los Angeles, Crime 101 weaves the tale of an elusive jewel thief (Chris Hemsworth) whose string of heists along the 101 freeway have mystified police. When he eyes the score of a lifetime, his path crosses that of a disillusioned insurance broker (Halle Berry) who is facing her own crossroads. Convinced he has found a pattern, a relentless detective (Mark Ruffalo) is closing in, raising the stakes even higher. As the heist approaches, the line between hunter and hunted begins to blur, and all three are faced with life-defining choices–and the realization that there can be no turning back.

Adapted from Don Winslow’s acclaimed novella of the same name, the film is written and directed by Bart Layton (American Animals, The Imposter). Barry Keoghan, Monica Barbaro, Corey Hawkins, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Nick Nolte round out the cast.